Nanjing++by+Shamshuddin+Jusop_2744

Nanjing
In my view, the visit to Nanjing Museum was equally interesting. Professor Sun told me that the
museum of antiquity was the 2
nd
biggest in China. See, Professor Sun is a professor of English
Literature at the College of Foreign Languages, Capital Normal University in Beijing, which is a 4-hour
train ride away from Nanjing.
I was introduced to him by Mr Chee Keong Tan, who is an o cial of the Ministry of Education in
Putrajaya, Malaysia. Both Professor Sun and Mr Tan are interested in Big History. Mr Tan knew that I
was going to NAU for a conference/meeting on May 23, 2019 and asked Professor Sun to meet me
there if he could.
After my seminar at NAU, I gave Professor Sun a copy my book “The Earth Story”. He wanted to take
a few points on the creation of the universe from the perspective of Islam, which I wrote in the book.
During the visit to the museum, Professor Sun explained to me a lot on the history of the imperial
China of which he is an expert. We talked a lot about other things as well, including life, nation
development and the use Big History for the good of mankind. It was really good to get to know him
and we talked as if we have already known each other for many long years. How amazing!
China is what China is. Her imperial influences is not new to the Southeast Asian region or the Malay
Archipelago, if you like. Trade and collaboration, political or otherwise, had existed since time
immemorial. It was in 15
th
Century that trade thrived well between the two regions when Melaka
Empire of the Malay World was at its height. Ships from the East, India and Arab lands met at Melaka
Port to exchange goods of all kinds, including silk, spices, etc.
The legend has it that Sultan Mansur Shah of Melaka (1456-1477) had a marriage of convenience to
Princess Hang Li Po of Imperial China; it was during the time of Ming Dynasty. The lady from the
Court of China was believed to have been sent to Melaka after the Sultan requested for help to stop
Thailand from disturbing the newly established kingdom in the Malay Peninsula. After the marriage,
there was no more disturbance from the Thais and the kingdom continued to flourish.
The princess together with her followers were accommodated in a special settlement (a hilly area
known as Bukit China). But please take this story with a pinch of salt. There is no written record
whatsoever has been found either in Malaysia or China. However, if this legend is anything to go by,
China and Melaka, a state in the present day Peninsular Malaysia, had already involved in some kind
of military collaboration/alliance even in the 15
th
Century. Hence, my proposed study on sustainable
rice cultivation using sea water a ected soils in Malaysia with the help of the academics of NAU is a
continuation of what was once existed between the two empires.
To start the research collaboration between NAU and UPM, Professor Fan and her team of researchers
paid a courtesy visit to UPM in late January 2019. She explained elaborately the purpose of the visit
and showed us via a seminar the work she had been doing at her university, NAU.
Nanjing